European Hoops; American Perspective; Usually Watching on Replay Stream

Round 25

So, it’s been a while (two months roughly) since I have posted on here. I know. A lot has happened in the Euroleague. I haven’t been completely in the dark, even if my Euroleague Jam Twitter has suggested otherwise. I have still been watching games, though not with as much frequency as in the start of the season (I blame my coaching responsibilities for that).

But anyways, I have been getting the Euroleague writing itch again, and I have some free time on my hands as well. I figured writing sporadically about Euroleague basketball is better than not writing at all. So, I decided to write this post about Bogdan Bogdanovic and his impact on Fenerbahce as well as the potential of him going to the Sacramento Kings this off-season. (As I am a Kings fan and I know many Kings fans who are interested to see what his potential will be, especially since the Kings are rebuilding after trading DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins.)

So let’s take a look at Fenerbahce and Bogdanovic after his most recent performance from round 25.

Fenerbahce lost 79-74 to Baskonia in Istanbul, in a surprising upset that solidified Baskonia’s playoff status a bit as we head into this final five game stretch. The game was a bit of a letdown for a Fenerbahce team that has been playing well lately, as evidenced by them winning six out of their previous seven before the Round 25 loss. Granted, Fenerbahce was playing short-handed, as Ekpe Udoh was ruled out for the game due to precautionary reasons, and it was obvious that his presence in the post was greatly missed. (Anthony Bennett, who started in place of Udoh and played in the most extensive stint of his Euroleague career, didn’t perform badly, but didn’t exactly duplicate Udoh’s production.)

If there is one silver lining from the game, it may be the continued development of combo guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, who may have solidified his title as Fenerbahce’s “star” player going forward. Bogdanovic played a game-high 34 minutes and scored 26 points on 7 of 10 shooting from 2-pt land and 2 of 5 from beyond the arc. He also added 8 assists and finished with a PIR of 26, which was a game high for both teams. While his impressive output came in a loss, that shouldn’t take away from what Bogdanovic not only did against Baskonia, but has done since he returned from injury in week 16. After missing extensive time, and taking it easy in 11 minutes against Olimpia Milano (in which he scored 0 points and took only two shots), Bogdanovic not only has returned to the productive form that was expected of him going into this year, but has perhaps surpassed that as well.

If you look at his game log, Bogdanovic has stepped up as Fenerbahce’s go-to perimeter player (and perhaps player in general) since round 21, where he struggled immensely in a 12 point, 2 of 11 shooting performance against CSKA Moscow (though his team won 77-71). He bounced back with a 15-point, 18 PIR performance in a tough loss to Turkish rival Darussafaka, but really came on the stage in huge wins over Euroleague Final Four contender Olympiacos and playoff-bubble team Zalgiris in consecutive weeks. In a 67-64 comeback win over a tough, defensive-minded Olympiacos squad, the 24-year-old Serbian scored 27 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field (3-of-5 from beyond the arc) to go along with 3 rebounds, 4 assists and a PIR of 29. If you watch the highlights below, it is quite a sight to see Bogdanovic battle for points against the tough Olympiacos defense, which may be the best in the Euroleague. The Piraeus-based club certainly put their pounding on him, but time and time again, especially in the fourth, Bogdanovic came up with crucial buckets, and willed them to a huge season-defining win.

His performance against Zalgiris was a bit more subtle, as he only played 21 minutes and scored 14 points on 4 of 7 shooting (2 of 3 from beyond the arc), but he did accumulate 7 steals as well as a PIR of 26 (only 1 point behind Udoh, who was the leader in PIR) in Fenerbahce’s 76-67 win. Put that together with his latest performance in round 25, and it is safe to say that this Fenerbahce team will be relying heavily on Bogdanovic down the stretch, not to mention depending on him to carry them to the Final Four. That is not an easy thing to say, especially considering this team has two All-Euroleague players (Udoh and Jan Vesely), and a former NBA player and Euroleague playoff stud (Luigi Datome) still on their roster. But after what he has done the past five games, there has been no one more productive for Fenerbahce, not to mention nobody else who matches up better head to head against the top playmakers from Final Four favorites CSKA (Milos Teodosic and Nando de Colo), Real Madrid (Sergio Llull and Luka Doncic) and Olympiacos (Vasilis Spanoulis).

Without a doubt, at this moment, Bogdanovic is thinking about how he can help Fenerbahce win a Euroleague title, which has just escaped their grasp the past couple of seasons (they have made the Final Four the past two seasons but finished fourth and second, respectively). Nonetheless, the big question for many basketball fans in general is if Bogdanovic will go the NBA, specifically the Sacramento Kings, who own his rights. The fit in Sacramento is fascinating mainly because it’ll be interesting to see if Bogdanovic can play the point guard position at the NBA level. While Bobby Dixon technically is the point on the team, Fenerbahce coach Zeljko Obradovic has opted to designate Bogdanovic as the main ballhandler in the past five or so weeks, and instead have Dixon play more off the ball. It was a bit of a risk to move a guy who primarily played the wing last season to the point position, but it has has paid off on both ends. Dixon has been able to utilize his strengths as a catch-and-shoot player from beyond the arc, and Bogdanovic has been able to create offense more off the drive not just for himself, but for his teammates as well (as evidenced by his 8 assists against Baskonia).

If Bogdanovic can make it to the NBA as a point guard (or at least a hybrid guard capable of playing it in limited doses), it will make his arrival in Sacramento much more exciting. As a shooting guard prospect, Bogdanovic is simply okay. A lot of NBA and Kings fans will be eager to want to compare him to Peja Stojakavic, since they are both Eastern European shooters who blew up Europe thanks to their scoring and shooting. However, Bogdanovic doesn’t have the height or shooting prowess of Stojakovic, so to make that comparison is unfair and unrealistic. That being said, Bogdanovic can create his own shot a lot better than Peja, and him getting more experience as a point guard on this Fenerbahce team makes the outlook of him perhaps playing a hybrid point in the NBA much more realistic.

He is going through his growing pains of course. He did have five turnovers last week, and I do not think he will have the passing prowess of a Sergio Rodriguez or Ricky Rubio by any means. However, he is a polished offensive player on many ends. He looks in control when he takes it to the rim. He can beat sagging defenders with his three point shot. And his vision is getting better, especially in the half court. His defense will be an issue, especially considering the athleticism of today’s point guards in the NBA (it’s tough to see him guard a Kyrie Irving or John Wall or Rusell Westbrook). It’s questionable if he’ll have the speed to keep up at that position on a full-time basis (which is why I think he is more of a hybrid). That being said, offensively he definitely has the potential to be an interesting point guard prospect who can really stretch opposing defenses thanks to his shooting and overall offensive polish, as one can see in this video below:

For the Kings, Darren Collison will be a free agent after this year, and Ty Lawson may be on his way out now after his latest brush with the law. That leaves huge gaps at the point guard position for the Kings, and they most likely won’t get a high enough pick in the draft to nab Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball, nor would they have enough money to lure a quality free agent point guard. Thus, with the Kings in full rebuild mode after trading their star player, Cousins, it seems logical that the Kings should take a flyer with Bogdanovic. Yes, him being a NBA point guard isn’t a slam dunk by any means. Can he adjust to other NBA point guards from the competition in Europe? That is hard to project accurately. But Bogdanovic isn’t just a spot-up shooter. He has a more diverse offensive game than that, and he has showed it in the Euroleague, becoming Fenerbahce’s most dependable player down the stretch.

It will be interesting to see if the Kings and head coach Dave Joerger will give him the kind of chance in Sacramento in 2018 that Fenerbahce and Obradovic has given him in Istanbul in 2017.